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From specific gene regulation to genomic networks: a global analysis of transcriptional regulation in Escherichia coli
Author(s) -
Thieffry Denis,
Huerta Araceli M.,
PérezRueda Ernesto,
ColladoVides Julio
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-1878(199805)20:5<433::aid-bies10>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - gene , biology , computational biology , regulation of gene expression , gene regulatory network , transcriptional regulation , escherichia coli , systems biology , genetics , autoregulation , gene expression , blood pressure , endocrinology
Because a large number of molecular mechanisms involved in gene regulation have been described during the last decades, it is now becoming possible to address questions about the global structure of gene regulatory networks, at least in the case of some of the best‐characterized organisms.This paper presents a global characterization of the transcriptional regulation in E scherichia coli on the basis of the current data. The connectivity of the corresponding network was evaluated by analyzing the distribution of the number of genes regulated by a given regulatory protein, and the distribution of the number of regulatory genes regulating a given regulated gene. The mean connectivity found (between 2 and 3) shows a rather loosely interconnected structure. Special emphasis is given to circular sequences of interactions (“circuits”) because of their critical dynamical properties. Only one‐element circuits were found, in which negative autoregulation is the dominant architecture. These global properties are discussed in light of several pertinent theoretical approaches, as well as in terms of physiological and evolutionary considerations. BioEssays 20 :433–440, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc.